Macau, China: Is this the start of the Ting Dynasty for China’s women’s volleyball team Head coach Jenny Lang Ping hopes it will be, while Netherlands head coach Gido Vermeulen is convinced it is – and that 18-year-old Chinese prodigy Zhu Ting is destined for a long reign at the top of international women’s volleyball.

Zhu, from Henan, proved too hot to handle for China’s three opponents at the FIVB Women’s World Grand Prix in Macau from August 2-4, bagging 18 points against Bulgaria, 19 against Cuba and then an eye-catching 32 against the Netherlands on Sunday, when China wrapped up a solid weekend’s work with a 3-0 win-loss record.

“I think she is a great player, and very young,” said Vermeulen, after his Netherlands team had lost 3-1 to China in Sunday’s finale. “In the first set we could not block her. She hit the ball over the block. I think she will become one of the best players in the world in the future.” China’s head coach, Lang Ping, a legend in women’s volleyball and who received louder cheers than any of her players when introduced to the large crowds at the Macau Forum, had this to say of the 1.95-metre, 78kg wing spiker.

“She is very, very talented and we are really lucky to have her. She is definitely working really hard. We hope she will be a good all-round player, not just in the hitting but also on defence and passing. It is very important for our team, too.”

Earlier this year, Zhu was named MVP of the FIVB Women’s U20 World Championship in the Czech Republic, and at Macau she added two individual titles – best scorer and best blocker; each award was worth US$3,000 on top of the US$35,000 China collected for winning the Macau leg of the World Grand Prix. OCA Executive Board member Charles Lo, who is President of the Sports and Olympic Committee of Macau, China, had the honour of presenting Zhu with her best blocker award.

From the evidence of this weekend, it looks as though there will be many more awards to come as China rebuilds its women’s team after finishing behind both Japan (bronze medal) and Korea (fourth place) at the London Olympics.